Encounter
by focusedOnProsperity
Summary: One-Shot with potential to be more. AU where an overworked Michonne does something she regrets towards Dr. Grimes. Is she in hot water, or is all in her mind?


**_AN:_** _If I owned anything from The Walking Dead besides my memorabilia, I might have more money._

 _This idea is based off of some real life events. Thanks to_ _ **Siancore**_ _for suggesting that this should be a Richonne fic. One-shot with the potential for more._

 **3 Years Ago**

She had finally gotten the hang of it. She was finally at a point where this job didn't make her into a ticking time bomb that could have detonated at any second. Being a unit clerk/nurse secretary wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. They had warned her, but the warnings weren't good enough. Seeing one of trainers break down and cry during a busy shift was daunting. Hearing the constant complaints of not getting paid enough did encourage her to send out resumes, but no one responded. Michonne decided that this was her job, she had to buckle down, and she just needed to get it done. There would be no tears from her. No slamming charts into chart racks like one of her peers had done. And no more telling a nurse that she could politely go fuck herself, like she did during one chaotic shift change.

No, Michonne was now in control of the workflow, the doctors' orders, and all of the other hectic activity that happened on the eternally busy cardiac floor. She didn't mind coming to help during the hell of all shifts, dayshift. She hated seeing the doctors, the multitude of visitors, and other expected nonsense. She was just too professional to show it. It had gotten to the point where she could joke and get her job done. Just like she did on one infamous day.

Chris, a nurse who decided he wanted to have a life and traded working overnight for the hussle and bussle of day shift work, had a predicament. "Michonne, listen. Dr. Grimes wants us to get this echo report from medical records so that we don't have to redo it. ' _Craig'_ , from medical records, says that they mysteriously don't have it."

"Why does _Craig_ have to lie," Michonne asked. She already caught the "Friday" joke from the way he emphasized Craig's name. "He ain't gotta lie."

Someone interrupted their banter. "If Craig keeps it up, he won't have a job," Dr. Grimes joked. Michonne was pleasantly shocked. She thought this "cowboy" would know nothing of the hood classic "Friday". They all laughed. Sadly enough, Craig wasn't lying. There was no echo report somehow.

The next day, Michonne helped her department once more by working a day shift. She noticed Dr. Grimes and greeted him as she did to all the physicians. She was extremely busy with a multitude of calls and physicians' orders. He still found a way to make a joke. "Hey, Michonne, when you see me, you have to announce my presence."

She thought "whatever". He was _the_ hospitalist of the cardiac floor. He pretty much ran the place. As long as he didn't tell her to suck his dick, she was fine with it. She smiled, "okay, and how would I do that?"

"You have to play the trumpet," he beamed.

If anyone else was around, they were too busy to notice this foolish banter. Michonne didn't realize her mistake when she complied. Instead of air-playing a trumpet, she played a trombone and simultaneously hummed a melody. For years, Michonne didn't think of how she looked playing that trombone…ahem, trumpet. She did stop pretending to play it, and just hummed it. All she thought was that she was happy to keep her job and didn't have the meltdowns that most of her co-workers did.

 **Present**

The last time Michonne saw Dr. Grimes was immediately after she finished a 12 hour night shift. As soon as she got home, her fiancé informed her that their son Andre was having an asthma attack and needed to get to the ER. She asked if he put him on a nebulizer, but the idiot claimed that he didn't know how. An exhausted Michonne with a talkative Andre (who didn't need to go to the ER) passed a very happy Dr. Grimes in the halls. She didn't care to see him, no matter how his blue eyes always sparkled. All she wanted was her bed and a safe drive home.

That was a year and a half ago. Since she essentially told her boss that she'd no longer sacrifice her sanity with working a shift during the day, she missed the in-house drama. Dr. Grimes and another hospitalist battled over who was really in charge. Dr. Grimes disagreed with the other's more dictator-like style, and tried to initiate a Ricktatorhip in another town. The other physician left, and he decided to come back to the hospital a year later. The Cardiac floor was ecstatic, and a party was thrown in his honor. Michonne missed it all. She was aware of it, but had her own things going on. Namely, she was now single and raised her two daughters from another marriage and Andre own her own.

Sleep was much more important than going to a "welcome back" party.

She came in one uneventful evening and looked at the staff board. It brought her some joy to see that she was going to work with a nursing staff that she liked and didn't have to hold their hands. She was tired of telling nurses how to do their jobs, when she had only started nursing school. Michonne had a tough life before, but didn't brag to them about how more educated she was than them. Life-changing events made her leave her job as a lawyer. She tried to not think about that when someone tried to demean her.

She listened to the report a new secretary named Jessie was giving her. Jessie seemed scared, as always. That's when she heard a familiar voice say her name.

"Oh, Dr. Grimes," she exclaimed. "Welcome back!"

"Happy to be here," he returned. They exchanged pleasantries. That's when he reminded her, "hey, you forgot to play the trumpet."

 _Oh, that again_. She did it, and went on about her day.

 **Days Later**

Michonne listened to the music playing off of her phone as she passed the physician's parking lot. She was in a rush and knew she'd get to her car faster if she parked closer, but always did what she could to stay fit. It didn't matter if she was exhausted or not. Her routine always went down this way.

She noticed the smile from yards away and across the street. Dr. Grimes was waving at her and seemed like he was saying something. She waved back. He then waved again. Michonne smiled, but was confused. She waved again and continued to walk. He did it again.

 _He must want the trumpet_ , she thought. Her mind was half of that of a zombie's. She wasn't thinking at 100%, as she only raised one hand to play the trumpet…

It was then that she noticed that she had been playing the trombone, and not the trumpet. She looked like she was giving him a blowjob signal.

There were many cars that passed them to see this interaction.

Michonne said nothing as she quickly walked away, not sure if she had just solicited herself or sexually harassed a physician. She kept her eyes on her phone as she nearly ran to her car.

 **-** ** _Do y'all want this story to continue? Lemme know!-_**


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